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"I have a Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Kik, and Tumblr. I would say I'm very social media savvy."

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"I'm pretty good at doing research online. I know to stay away from Wikipedia and crowd-sourced websites. I also know that I should be looking for information that is repeated in different sources to corroborate."

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"We use Google Drive, Docs, Slides, Forms, and a few others in a lot of my classes. Even if it's something that's new to me, it's pretty easy to figure out or I can ask a friend for help."

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"I like doing role play or projects that are based on figuring something out or solving a problem. It makes me think outside the box and forces me to get creative!"

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"I play a lot of video games, so when we do online games or simulators, I feel really comfortable."

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2. HOW DO STUDENTS WANT TO USE TECHNOLOGY? WHAT TOOLS CAN WE USE TO SUPPORT THAT?

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2. HOW DO STUDENTS WANT TO USE TECHNOLOGY? WHAT TOOLS CAN WE USE TO SUPPORT THAT?

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"I have a hard time getting my thoughts across in writing, so I like when my teacher lets me talk it out."

"I like to talk about myself a lot - connecting new information to my experiences helps me to better remember information."

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Students can record their experiences, and we encourage parents to get involved, too!

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Describe a time when you moved to a new place (to a new country, a new school, a new neighborhood, etc.)- What was your reason for moving? Is that a push or pull factor?- What was challenging about the move?- What new opportunities were available to you?

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"I'm from Ukraine, so sometimes I have a hard time reading old documents in history class. But, I still want to read it for myself. I don't want someone else to explain it to me, because they might be wrong."

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Rewordify.com | Understand what you read

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Rewordify.com helps you read more, understand better, learn new words, and teach more effectively.

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Use adapted documents from TeachingHistory.com

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Use adapted documents from TeachingHistory.com

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"My teacher retweets a lot of stuff about "cutting edge" trends, like using virtual reality... so if that stuff is so great, why don't we get to use it?"

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Nearpod VR - Introducing Virtual Field Trips

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Nearpod VR for the classroom is here! With Nearpod VR - teachers can now easily take their students anywhere in the world and beyond. Imagine visiting The Ancient Pyramids, The Taj Mahal, The Great Barrier Reef or even Mars! Now with Nearpod VR, you can!

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My school, Athens Drive High has a magnet program for health sciences and global health initiatives. As part of our magnet funding, we purchased an anatomage table for students to practice anatomy, dissections, etc.

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Digital Notetaking, Infographics and MindMaps

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Digital Notetaking, Infographics and MindMaps

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"I don't like when teachers make us take notes in one certain way or do one type of thing. I want to work the way that I think, and that's when I learn the best.

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Concept Mapping with Google docs Drawings

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Step-by-step instructions for creating a concept map using Google docs drawings. Part 1 features creating the concept map, working with the text, adding color and adding images. Part 2 features other formatting and final products.

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Using Piktochart.com to make Infographics

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Using Piktochart.com to make Infographics

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Piktochart Demo: Create Beautiful Visuals Using Piktochart

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Digital notes have big advantages over their pen-and-paper counterparts. / Credit: Shutterstock

Keeping notes organized across different devices is essential for small business owners. Between sorting through contact info after networking events, taking notes at trade shows and jotting down reminders on spare scraps of paper, there are countless opportunities for little things to slip through the cracks. Luckily, there are lots of fantastic note-taking apps out there, and they do a lot more than your standard notebook or paper planner.

These three note-taking applications are our current favorites for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Best of all, two of the three apps are completely free and the third has a free version in addition to a paid version.

Microsoft OneNote ( Free)

Microsoft OneNote is arguably the most robust note-taking and organization app out there, and we highly recommend it for entrepreneurs and business owners. OneNote is part of the Microsoft Office Suite, so you might already have it on your device, but if not, you can download it for free.

There is a difference between the OneNote web app and the full Windows version; they're both great tools, but the web app doesn't have all the same features built in.

Compatibility: You can run Microsoft OneNote on practically any device, including Chromebooks, Apple laptops and desktops, Windows laptops and desktops, iPhones, and Android phones. You can also use OneNote with touch screen devices and styluses.

Interface: Using Microsoft OneNote is intuitive because it's modeled after a physical notebook. You can create as many different notebooks as you want, and there are built-in tabs for easy labeling.

Note-taking features: You can take notes by typing, using a stylus, or drawing with your cursor or your finger. OneNote allows you to make notes wherever you want on the page, and you can add in photos, audio files, screen clips, Excel spreadsheets and online videos. You can also record audio and video directly into OneNote.

Organizational features: One of the best things about OneNote is the ability to assign permissions to different notebooks. You can create personal notebooks that only you can see as well as shared notebooks with other people on your team. When you create a shared notebook, everyone who has access to it can make changes to the notebook, and those changes will be instantly reflected, which is great for group projects. Another reason we like OneNote for business owners is because it works seamlessly with Outlook, so you can do things like create and assign tasks in OneNote based on employee email addresses. You can also highlight text in one of your notebooks and create an Outlook task directly from OneNote; the task will show up on your calendar automatically, and you can track which tasks have been completed and which ones haven't.

Google Keep - Free
Google Keep is great for organizing your professional and personal life. While it's not preloaded on most devices, Google's note-taking app is free to download. Google Keep is not as powerful or customizable as OneNote, but it's great for simple organization, checklists and note taking.

Compatibility: Google Keep is exclusively a web app, which means you can use it on Android phones and iPhones, Apple laptops and desktops, Windows laptops and desktops, Chromebooks, and tablets. Compatibility is never a problem.

Interface: Google Keep is colorful, bright and uncomplicated. Your main Notes page will always show you the most recently added notes, and you can choose a single column view or a multicolumn view. The only downside to the interface is that it makes it difficult to read long notes and search for older items.

Note-taking features: Google Keep's note-taking features are best for people who want to keep track of short notes and checklists. If you're using Google Keep on a device with a camera, you can save images directly into your notes and even extract text from images, so you can take a photo of a business card and instantly extract editable text containing all the contact info and put it into your notes.

Organizational features: You can easily color-code and label notes in Google Keep, and you can share those notes with other people so they can update them as well (changes are reflected in real time). You can also set reminders for yourself, which means you can create a to-do list and attach a reminder to complete it at a future date/time.

Evernote - Free Version & Paid Version
Evernote has been around since 2008, and it's still a popular note-taking app today. You can sign up for a free account, but if you want to use it on more than two devices, you'll have to pay extra.

Compatibility: The app is compatible with Android phones and iPhones as well as Apple and Windows computers. You can also download the Android app on a Chromebook, but some users say the app is inconsistent and slow on a Chrome OS. That said, the ability to run Evernote on anything from a tablet to a phone to a desktop, and have it synced across all those devices, is part of the app's popularity.

Interface: Evernote looks great on devices of all different sizes. It has lots of menu options and optional add-ons (and third-party extensions), and makes it easy to create lots of different notebooks, tag them and search through them. Most people find Evernote easy to use and pleasing to look at.

Note-taking features: You can take notes by typing or by writing with a stylus, your finger or the sketch tool. Just like in OneNote, you can save photos, documents, audio and video. Further, you can record audio, grab parts of web pages and snag text content from images. You can also password-protect certain notes for added security, use templates and share notebooks with certain people while keeping other notebooks private.

Organizational features: If you plan on having your whole team use Evernote, you should consider Evernote Business. The service is $12 a month per user and offers the same note-taking tools as the individual version in addition to team features that allow multiple people to collaborate in a single workspace, maintain team projects and share and give feedback. Evernote Business also allows for single sign-on, includes basic admin tools and has added security features.

Mona Bushnell

Mona Bushnell is a New York City-based Staff Writer for Tom's IT Pro and Business News Daily. She has a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College and has previously worked as an IT Technician, a Copywriter, a Software Administrator, a Scheduling Manager and an Editorial Writer. Mona began freelance writing full-time in 2014 and joined the Purch team in 2017.

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Ditch Pen and Paper: Best Note-Taking Apps

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Keeping notes organized across different devices is essential for small business owners. Between sorting through contact info after networking events, taking notes at trade shows and jotting down reminders on spare scraps of paper, there are countless opportunities for little things to slip through the cracks.

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"I know I'm smart and have a lot to add to discussions, but I have a hard time speaking up in class discussions, especially when it's a new class."

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My students use Blogger to create individual blogs connecting past and present events,  Students are then required to read and respond to each others posts

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The life of an immigrant is not easy. Imagine arriving at an unknown place with nothing but a few items. You don't know the language, culture, or how things work. If you have ever transitioned from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school you know how drastic the transition may be, even if you're staying in the same general area.

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3. WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO TO IMPROVE STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM?

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3. WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO TO IMPROVE STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM?

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"It feels like I never really have a chance to figure out how one thing works before being asked to use something else for another assignment."

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Teachers can help their students become digitally literate by choosing a handful of tech tools to use each year/semester and letting students get REALLY familiar with them.

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"I don't have a computer that works at home, and sometimes our internet can be really slow, so I use my iPhone for pretty much everything."

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Use tech tools that have easy and free to install app equivalents, and make sure the websites we use are mobile-friendly!

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Check how mobile-friendly your class website is! 

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Check how mobile-friendly your class website is! 

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The Bing Mobile Friendliness Test Tool lets you see if a page is mobile-friendly and helps understand why with detailed explanations.

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"Sometimes I wonder why we have to learn certain things - how is it ever going to help me in the future? Honestly, do I really need to know what a tenement is?"

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Challenge students to locate course content, concepts, themes, and vocabulary in their everyday lives... and use technology to document it!

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Anytime students can think of a (school appropriate) song that uses content vocabulary or references major themes and concepts, they can submit it to be added to our class Spotify playlist.
We play it whenever students are working independently or doing review activities before assessment.

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A playlist featuring Andy Mineo, Relient K, Judah & the Lion, and others

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"I know there's a lot of tech tools out there, but I never know which one is the best to use for a certain task or assignment."

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Help students associate certain tasks with specific tools that work by showing them how we use them and mentioning the tool we used.

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Integrating Tech and Literacy into Sec. Social Studies

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Integrating Tech and Literacy into Sec. Social Studies

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If you know what you need to do (ex. mindmap or create an infographic), you can use this reference for suggestions of which tools would be the best fit for classroom use.
*** Scroll to the bottom

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STANDARDS BEYOND SOCIAL STUDIES ESSENTIAL STANDARDS and CCSS: NC Digital Learning Competencies for Classroom Teachers * Leadership in Digital Learning * Digital Citizenship * Digital...

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I like using social media because it keeps me connected to people who aren't right next me, it inspires me, and it let's me brag on myself.

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Have professional accounts on popular social media platforms.
Not only does it connect us to our students, their families, and our school communities, but it allows us to actively demonstrate positive digital citizenship!
*** And it's a cool way to keep in touch with students after they graduate!

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#jagshustleharder

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The latest Tweets from Ms. Hatmaker (@MsHatmaker). teaching history and quoting Harry Potter at Athens Drive Magnet High. #jagshustleharder UNCP Alumna, NCSU Graduate Student. Raleigh, NC

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Ms. Hatmaker (@mshatmaker) * Instagram photos and videos

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68 Followers, 137 Following, 18 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Ms. Hatmaker (@mshatmaker)

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Check with your administration about county policies and read over FERPA guidelines so you don't accidentally share confidential information!

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Check with your administration about county policies and read over FERPA guidelines so you don't accidentally share confidential information!